Dennis Quaid Honored at UH, Talks College, Career and Life in Houston

May 14, 2013

Some
40 years after he studied acting as a student at the University of Houston,
award-winning actor and humanitarian Dennis Quaid returned to campus to attend
commencement.

“If
it wasn’t for UH, I wouldn’t be where I am,” said Quaid, who was accepted to the
university as a drama major in 1973. “I would not have had the career and the
opportunity that I’ve had in life, because it was here that I got all the tools
to go out and achieve a dream. Otherwise, I would have just been drifting
around."

During
the ceremony, Quaid was awarded the President’s Medallion from UH President
Renu Khator. He was honored for his creative contributions as an actor and for
his works with various children’s charities. He took some time to share his
experiences with the graduates and the audience at Hofheinz Pavilion.

“I
found at this great university a purpose— a sense of direction in my life— and
a belief that I could achieve a dream. My teachers, who were my mentors,
specifically Mr. Cecil Pickett and Dr. Sidney Berger, taught acting as a craft.”

Before
the ceremony, Quaid reflected on his time at UH.

“I
remember doing a scene for Mr. Pickett, and the first words out of his mouth
were, ‘Of course you know that you failed miserably,’” said Quaid. “He was very
real... brutally real. And he inspired me. He said to go out and watch people.”

Quaid
said one the greatest things about being an actor is getting to go through doors
that say “authorized personnel only” and learning about other people’s lives
and what they do.

“I’ve
ridden around with the cops in New Orleans on the midnight shift. I’ve been in
the cockpit with Chuck Yeager. I’ve got my pilot’s license,” he said of his
experiences.

Important
for Quaid was that the University gave him a safe place— to sometimes fail and
always grow.

“Out
there in the real world, they give you one shot, kid,” he said of his early
career trying to make it in Hollywood. “The university was a safe place, and it was also one
that had constructive criticism.”

Later, Quaid said a big moment came during an extended visit to the University of
Houston, which came shortly after he had left Houston for Los Angeles and was
struggling to find acting work.

“I
was coming back here and sitting in on class with Mr. Pickett, and I remember
being in the office and he had his back to me. He was getting his mail and he
said to me ‘Dennis, why are you still here? Go back.’ And that stung a little
bit, but he was right.”

Quaid
soon returned to Hollywood. He said getting his first job as an actor was a
hurdle, but it happened a year to the day after he left Houston to take another
shot at it.

“It
was really getting ‘Breaking Away’ with director Peter Yates who really
taught me about film acting. He really taught me how to be still and just
trust.”

Quaid
has now appeared in more than 70 feature films.

“I
always judge them by the experience of making them. The movie that really
stands out is ‘The Right Stuff’ … it was my favorite experience of all time –
playing an astronaut and just everything that went with it.”

Quaid
grew up in Houston and has fond memories of “Space City.” He said he recalls
watching Alan Shepard go into space from a television set up in his first grade
classroom and considered Gordon Cooper his favorite astronaut. He said
returning to visit can be a little surreal … as the Houston he grew up in had
fewer than a million residents.

“A
lot of the landmarks are gone – but the streets still flood,” he said laughing. “The
first house I grew up in, they knocked it down a couple of years ago to make
room for the mansion-izing that’s going on in Bellaire.”

But
Quaid said he’s proud to see acting still being taught “as a craft” whenever he
returns to the University of Houston.

“So
many young people just want to be a star now, and a craft is what carries you
through.”

In
his speech to students, Quaid fondly recalled learning that craft. In doing so, he says he found the tools to achieve his
dreams.

“It
was here at the University of Houston that a fire was lit inside of me that
still burns to this day. It was here that I was given the tools to achieve my
dream in life.”